Strange Admiration
by halfpipez
Summary: Gaara contemplates the weird feelings he's been having lately for a certain Byakugan user. It's confusing, and he's never felt it before, and all he know about this feeling is what Temari told him about it. Maybe it's love.


The first time Gaara saw Hinata was at the Chunin exams. Back then, he thought she was a worthless weakling. Even her fight against Neji wasn't worth much praise, and that had almost gotten her killed. Yes, back then, she was only a girl worth passing a glance at.

But now, being rid of the one-tailed demon Shukaku, Gaara sees her in a new, very different, light. She's a stronger person now, even though she still retains her shyness and stuttering. There's actually not much difference at all, though she grew her hair out. Hinata still wears baggy clothes that cover her small figure that even Ino would kill for.

Gaara never really knew what emotions were, but he felt a strange feeling towards her. Not hate, that feeling he knew all too well.

She was Konoha's ambassador, and good friends with Temari, his sister. She came quite frequently to Suna with news of governmental progress and keeping the alliance between the two villages/ She was always polite and never treated Gaara any different from a regular person, except for the fact that she called him 'Kazekage-sama'.

Right now actually, he was in the middle of a meeting. He really didn't care much for the topic they were discussing, as it had nothing to do with what Hinata had came here for. Gaara turned slightly to look at Hinata. She seemed to be either taking notes or doodling on the paper infront of her. She had a small smile on her face, as if she was being caressed by the cool breezes that didn't exist in Suna.

Gaara's only question was why she would like someone like Naruto? Yes, Naruto is his friend, but why him? After all, he and Gaara had been through the same circumstances. Why not him?

Gaara realized what he was thinking and remember what Temari had told him a long time ago: '_When you're in love, you usually think about the person all the time. You get protective, or jealous, or even obsessive. That's when you know you're in love and you care for somebody._'

_Maybe that person is Hinata…_ Gaara thought vaguely, toying with his pen. He leaned back into his chair, elbow on the armrests, and held his head with his hand. _Maybe I care for Hinata just like how Temari described it._

After the meeting, Gaara went back to his office, but not to do work. He deemed paperwork dull and useless. Temari, Kankuro, Hinata, and Shikamaru followed him.

Shikamaru was in Suna 'on business'. He delivered a package to Suna, but had spent the past week with Temari. Gaara had seen through his act from day one. That lazy ninja had traveled for three days to be with Temari. And through the past week, Gaara had observed the signs of love that Temari had told him about. Shikamaru had shown every sign. Temari knew her stuff. Gaara had also compared these signs to the feelings he had.

According to them, he liked Hinata.

Kankuro didn't believe him when he had told him a day ago. If anything, Kankuro thought this was quite funny and started giving Gaara some pointers on 'scoring chicks'.

_He is the idiot of the family though…_ Gaara reasoned to himself.

When they reached his office, they sat and sipped at the tea that one of Gaara's had brought in.

"So what exactly happened at the meeting?" Gaara asked in his monotone.

It seemed no one had actually paid any attention to the meeting except for Temari, as she was the one who answered.

"It was mostly about how the alliance is with Konoha. A pretty stupid topic if you ask me, I mean, Naruto is Hokage now and you two are really good friends. I doubt the alliance will be in danger anytime soon. Plus, the elders were criticizing the alliance agreement you guys made. I read it over while they were arguing, and there's nothing wrong with it." She explained, bored.

Hinata blushed when she mentioned Naruto, but stayed quiet.

"Nothing important happened then?" Kankuro asked incredulously. "What a total waste of time. I could've been fixing me puppets and blown that meeting off."

"No, we actually can't just 'blow off' meetings. Gaara's the Kazekage if you haven't noticed. He can't simply skip meetings." Temari scolded. "That's stupid."

"He has a point though. We could've watched the clouds." Shikamaru said. "It would've been better than trying to stay awake."

Temari tried to keep from whacking them both with her fan, which proved difficult as they now had bumps on their heads.

Gaara just watched the show as the continued bickering. Hinata didn't dare say anything, and kept to herself. After a while, Gaara got bored.

"You three are dismissed. Shikamaru, go watch your clouds, Temari, you can go with him and do whatever you love-birds do. Didn't you say you have to fix up your puppets Kankuro?" Gaara muttered commandingly.

That left him with the silent Hinata.

_Oh great. I almost forgot she was here._ He thought.

"Um, Kazekage-sama, is there anything you'd like me to do? Any errands to run since Temari-chan isn't here?" Hinata asked quietly.

"I've told you not to use my title when we aren't surrounded by people, haven't I?" Gaara asked.

"Yes… er… Gaara-sama." She said with difficulty.

Gaara considered his new name for a moment before telling her without the formality.

"Gaara-kun?"

"I guess that's better…"

"Would you like me to run any errands for you Gaara-kun?" She asked again.

"If you don't mind, I'd like another cup of tea."

She left to get some and Gaara could suddenly think straight again. Yes, now he could be his kind of normal again, until she came back with a hot cup of tea.

_All this caring stuff Temari told me about is giving me a headache._ He rubbed his temples. _What should I do?_

Hinata returned a few minutes later with tea for the two of the, and sat back down.

_I could just dismiss her as well._ Gaara thought. He considered the option and decided against it. _But that's rude._

Hinata fidgeted in her chair and asked if she could do anything else.

"Come here." Gaara requested.

Hinata walked towards his desk, twiddling her thumbs.

"What do you think of the regulations for the alliance, do the elders have a right to complain?"

Hinata leaned over to read the document.

"It all seems pretty standard Gaara-kun." She said quietly stuttering.

Gaara pecked her on the cheek before she went back.

"Thank-you for your opinion."

Maybe, just maybe, Kankuro's tips weren't that useless after all.

* * *

**Author's Note: This was an idea that got written and never typed. Finally A year later, it is published on Fanfiction!! Woot! Anyways, first attempt at a Naruto pairing, hope you like :D**


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